Butler and Creighton will go head-to-head on New Year's Day with the Bluejays hosting the action at D.J. Sokol Arena. Each team heads into the matchup with 10 overall wins. The Bluejays will look to remain undefeated in conference action while the Bulldogs aim to capture their first BIG EAST win.
 
Game Day
Date: Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT
Location: Omaha, Neb. - D.J. Sokol Arena
Live Stats: GoCreighton.com
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- Riley Makalusky led Butler in scoring for the first time this season with 11 points against Seton Hall.
- Makalusky has led BU in scoring four times in her BU career.
- Makalusky set new career-high totals at the free throw line making nine of her 10 attempts.
- The Bulldogs lead the league in free throw attempts (20.4) and free throws made (13.7) per game.
- Sydney Jaynes jumped into the starting lineup for Butler against Seton Hall.
- Jaynes was inserted into the starting five for the first time since Jan. 13, 2024 (vs. Villanova).
- Kilyn McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 29th in the nation in double-doubles (5).
- McGuff leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.4).
- BU is third in the league in rebound margin (+3.1)
- McGuff needs four more steals to reach 100 in her career; she is six free throws shy of 200.
- Lily Carmody ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals.
- Ari Wiggins has been great from 3-point range this year making 66% of her attempts (10-15).
- Cristen Carter ranks sixth in the league in blocked shots (16) and is ninth in blocks per game (1.0).
- Karsyn Norman ranks fifth in the conference in assist to turnover ratio.
- Norman tied her career-high 3-point total against Seton Hall, making three against the Pirates.
- Norman also had a three 3-pointer game at St. John's last year.
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (26.7).
- Butler's bench was responsible for 30 of the team's 65 points in the last meeting vs. Creighton.
- CU won by 36 the last time BU played at DJ Sokol.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 2-0, 11-2
Creighton 2-0, 10-3
Seton Hall 2-0, 10-3
Marquette 1-0, 9-3
Villanova 1-0, 7-6
Georgetown 1-1, 8-5
DePaul 1-1, 6-9
St. John's 0-2, 10-3
Butler 0-2, 10-5
Providence 0-2, 7-8
Xavier 0-2, 5-8
 
Scouting Creighton                                                                            
The Bluejays are 10-3 overall with a 2-0 mark in the BIG EAST. They opened conference play with a convincing 82-54 win at Xavier on Dec. 4 and recently went to Queens to hand St. John's a 75-56 setback. At the start of the year, CU lost their opener at South Dakota State 76-71 and would fall at #10 Kansas State 86-68. They bounced back with an 80-74 win at home against #21 Nebraska and that victory would spark an eight-game winning streak that ended with a loss against #1 UCLA on Dec. 20. Head Coach Jim Flanery has an experienced roster in 2024-25 and it shows up in the stats. CU leads the league in free throw percentage and 3-point field goal percentage while ranking second to UConn in field goal percentage. They don't turn the ball over (just 11 turnovers per game) and have two of the top five scorers in the conference (Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly).
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
Creighton holds a 16-8 lead over Butler in the all-time series. The Bluejays have won seven-straight to increase their advantage. Butler's last win came on Feb. 21, 2020. They won 76-61 at Hinkle. It was a season series sweep in 2019-20 as Butler also won at D.J. Sokol that year 73-67.
 
Last Game vs. Creighton                                                                                
Creighton topped Butler by 10 the last time these two teams met at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler led by four at the half, but CU would outscore BU 26-13 in the third to take control of the action. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures that day. Sydney Jaynes led the way with 15 and Riley Makalusky chipped in with 11. Lauren Jensen hit three 3-pointers to end the game with 19 points and Morgan Maly had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal.
 
18 3-Pointers                                                                                        
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record against Saint Francis by hitting 18 3-pointers. Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer and no Bulldog made more than four. As a team, BU shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc, making 18 of their 32 attempts. The old record of 16 was reached two times previously. BU hit 16 3-pointers at Georgetown on Jan. 11, 2014 and the 2023-24 team matched that effort with 16 against St. Thomas in game two of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
 
Happy New Year                                                                                                
This is only the second time in program history for Butler to play on New Year's Day. The only other time was a win at Providence on Jan, 1, 2014. The Bulldogs edged the Friars 68-65.
 
NET Rankings                                                                                       
The Bluejays are not receiving votes in the national poll, but are well represented in the NET Rankings landing at 31. The setback to Seton Hall pushed the Bulldogs back to 108.
 
Balanced Scoring                                                                                              
Six different Bulldogs have led team in scoring this season. Caroline Strande leads the team in this category having led  the team in the scoring column six times. Strande is also responsible for three of the team's six 20+ point scoring performances. She had 26 against UMass Lowell, 23 vs. Boise State and 22 vs. Vanderbilt. The only other 'Dawgs to top 20 points this year are Kilyn McGuff (22 vs. Boise State) and Lily Carmody (20 at Milwaukee).
 
Strande Sidelined                                                                                             
Caroline Strande left the Wisconsin game due to injury on Dec. 11 and remained sidelined against Saint Francis and DePaul. She suited up in the BIG EAST home opener vs. Seton Hall, but didn't play until the start of the second quarter. Strande played just over 10 minutes  before leaving the court with another injury. There is no timetable for her return. 
 
Schedule Swap                                                                                                  
Three of Butler's first four BIG EAST games this year were scheduled on the road, but after their FS1 game at Marquette on Jan. 4, the Bulldogs will host four of their next five opponents at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The only road game during that stretch is a short drive over to Cincinnati to play Xavier.
 
Point Guard Play                                                                                                
Karsyn Norman and Ari Wiggins have been great setting up the Bulldog offense this year. Norman has 47 assists to just 23 turnovers and Wiggins has 32 assists and 17 turnovers. Wiggins has not had multiple turnovers in a game since Nov. 30 and Norman has had more assists than turnovers in 11 games this season.
 
Fantastic Freshmen                                                                          
The Bulldogs have received a lift from their freshmen class. Lily Zeinstra averages nearly 20 minutes of playing time per game and has started in three-straight games. She had a career-high 17 points in her first start and has made at least one field goal in every game this year. Lily Carmody also averages 20 minutes of playing time for BU and is shooting 42 percent from the field this year. Carmody has scored in double figures five times this year and led BU in scoring at DePaul with 12 points. Jocelyn Land provides BU with a spark off the bench. She averages 10 minutes per game and showed off her shooting skills with nine points vs. Chicago State, eight vs. Wisconsin and hit a couple 3-pointers in the win vs. Saint Francis.
 
10 Wins                                                                                                                 
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. Butler went 6-2 in November and highlighted that stretch of action with a 56-46 home win over Indiana. The victory came in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,135 fans.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                 
Butler will be in Milwaukee this Saturday to face Marquette at 4 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Central. The game will be televised on FS1.